A year ago, she was abandoned on a Queens street, barefoot and bereft – shoved into the cold night by the man who had murdered her adoring mom.

Today, little Valery Saavedra Lozada has reclaimed the security and love yanked from her that chilly September evening: The now-5-year-old is a happy schoolgirl with a new family and home.

It’s been a heartbreaking journey from Middle Village, Queens, to the idyllic Chicago suburb where Valery now lives with an aunt’s family, and where she has a small, white dog and a new teen “sister” – a high-school freshman who plays soccer, dances and is a member of her school’s drill team.

“She’s happy, and she’s doing really well,” said Iris Saavedra, who – along with her investment-analyst husband and daughter – has opened her home to the adorable kindergartner. Saavedra is a sister of Valery’s biological father.

“There are still difficult times, but she is adjusting,” said Saavedra, whom neighbors describe as a doting “mom” to Valery. “We are just trying to protect her and give her as normal a life as we can.”

A family friend was thrilled with Valery’s arrival.

“She’s a delightful little girl, full of personality,” the friend said. “Always smiling, out walking that little dog and playing in the yard.”

The family put up a Christmas tree in the front window of their home, a recently renovated bungalow on a tree-lined block in the affluent suburb River Forest.

On Christmas Eve, Valery and Saavedra made a quick trip to a Kmart. An independent Valery walked in front as Saavedra pushed a shopping cart.

The girl let herself into the back seat of the family’s blue Toyota RAV4 SUV while Saavedra loaded items into the back.

The two then headed to a burger joint to pick up lunch at the drive-through counter before heading home.

On Christmas Day, the whole family piled into their Mercedes-Benz Kompressor for a trip to a sprawling home on a tony cul-de-sac about a mile away.

For now, Saavedra’s guardianship has the blessing of Valery’s maternal grandmother in Bolivia, Roxanna Rivadineira, who has visited the girl in Illinois.

But Rivadineira has made an application in family court for permanent custody of the bubbly, brown-eyed girl – the only person to apply so far, a court spokesman said.

Saavedra remained protective and private, declining to allow Valery to speak to a reporter.

“I’m sorry, but we have been asked [by the court and child-welfare agency] not to talk,” she said. “I understand the media’s interest, but bringing it all up again is not in Valery’s best interest. We just want to make her feel safe.”

On Sept. 25, 2005, Valery was dumped on a Middle Village street by her mother’s boyfriend, Cesar Ascarrunz, who had strangled Valery’s mom, Monica Lozada Rivadineira, 26, in a jealous rage.

The heart-wrenching story captured a city’s heart when authorities, hoping to find Valery’s mom, put the little girl on television. On camera, the pigtailed charmer said her mother’s name was Monica – and that Monica looked “like a princess.”

Rivadineira’s body was found in a Pennsylvania landfill after a two-week search. Ascarrunz, who is not Valery’s dad, pleaded guilty in February to manslaughter and reckless endangerment. He is serving 30 years in prison.

Valery’s new family is trying its best to shield the girl from a sense of loss and bitterness – and neighbors say that protection is working.

They also heaped praised on Saavedra, who has taught Spanish at the local schools, and her close-knit family. Her husband coaches a girls’ soccer team.

“Iris is a great mom – and a terrific cook,” one neighbor said. “And [her daughter] seems a natural at being a big sister.”

“This has not been easy on any of them, but they desperately love that little girl, and think of her as their own,” another family friend said. “Everyone refers to Iris and her husband as Valery’s mom and dad.”

One neighbor noted that Iris had found Valery a therapist, adding, “Everyone’s hope is that that little girl can heal.”

She said, “Watching Valery, with so many people to love her – you can’t help but get the feeling that her mother is looking down on her, making sure it’s going to be OK.”

Saavedra, however, is more cautious: “She is beginning to forget. But it is going to be a very long road for all of us.”